Sunday, February 1, 2009

Literary Lovers

Who says you have to read Harlequin novels to get a dose of romance? Steamy relationships and affairs can be found throughout literature if you know where to look. Here are a few of the most memorable pairs:

Jane Eyre and Edward Fairfax Rochester in Jane Eyre

She's fiesty and pious, he's mysterious and often rude - sounds like a dream couple to me. While the novel Jane Eyre is about Jane's life in general, her whirlwind romance with Rochester steals the show. I was surprised to find myself both repelled and attracted by him. Highlight: A real obstacle to be overcome

Mark Antony and Cleopatra in Antony and Cleopatra

Romeo and Juliet might seem the obvious Shakespeare character choices, but I decided to go with Antony and Cleopatra for a few reasons. First, they were real lovers in history, not fictitious characters. Second, their story is as over-the-top dramatic as the Montague-Capulet romance, only Cleopatra's behavior and mannerisms are wildly amusing. Highlight: A serious drama queenAragorn and Arwen in The Lord of the Rings Trilogy

He's mortal, she's elf-kind. They are separated by a world of differences and the whole mortality issue, yet their bond is so strong that it survives the near end of the world. Highlight: Interracial relationship issues

Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley in The Harry Potter Series

At first, he found her youthful crush on him annoying. Yet as the years go by - and she cleverly begins to date other boys - Harry falls hard for the youngest Weasley sibling. Highlight: The childhood sweetheart saga

6 comments:

Has to be Jane and Rochester. I know, I know he locks his first wife in an attic, it's all very bad. But clearly he and Jane were meant to be together, he's blind by the end of the book so we don't have to worry about him trying again...

I'm going to have to add to the following list:* Elizabeth Bennett and Fitzwilliam Darcy (call it cliche, but there is a reason its the best love story!) * The Narrator and Max from Rebecca* Rhett Butler and Scarlett O'Hara from Gone with the Wind* Henry and Claire DeTamble from Time Travellers Wife.